Two tough teams and two imaginative coaches promise a real contest for once

Super Bowl XXIII, like most things in football, began with Paul Brown. He hired Bill Walsh in the 1960s to assist in coaching the new Cincinnati Bengals. When Walsh got his own command in San Francisco, reserve quarterback Sam Wyche followed along to tutor passers. Together Wyche and Walsh scouted and drafted Notre Dame's Joe Montana. In two triumphant Super Bowls, Montana has been the player of the game. Now he is the central figure in a third.

Meanwhile, Brown retrieved Wyche five years ago to coach Cincinnati -- as it happens, the 49ers' opponent this Super Sunday in Miami. For...